Within Chen Tao
The Texas Address Where God Did Not Arrive
Chen Tao's Garland address became the stage for a second failed deadline when God did not arrive there at 10 a.m.
On this page
- Why 3513 Ridgedale Drive mattered
- The 31 March deadline as a public event
- What happened when the hour passed
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Introduction
On 31 March 1998, one of the most specific UFO-related prophecies of the late twentieth century centred on a single suburban address: 3513 Ridgedale Drive in Garland, Texas. Hon-Ming Chen, leader of the Taiwanese UFO religion known as God’s Salvation Church or Chen Tao, declared that God would physically appear there at exactly 10:00 a.m. The prediction followed the failure of an earlier claim that God would appear on North American television through Channel 18 six days before. Because the prophecy named a precise location, date and hour, it became a rare case in which journalists, neighbours, police and scholars could directly observe whether a supernatural prediction succeeded or failed. When the appointed time passed without any divine arrival, the Garland house became a prominent example of a failed UFO-related prophecy. [DNB]d-nb.info10:00 a.m.22 This human incarnation of GodDNBGod's Salvation Church: Past, Present and FutureApril 11, 2004 — by CH Prather · 1999 · Cited by 10 — In this book Chen states that Go…
Why 3513 Ridgedale Drive Mattered
The choice of 3513 Ridgedale Drive was not incidental. Chen’s theology identified Garland as a specially significant place, in part because he interpreted the city’s name as sounding like “God’s Land”. After relocating followers from Taiwan and California, the group established itself in a residential Garland neighbourhood and acquired numerous nearby homes. Chen’s own house became the focal point of the movement’s prophetic timetable. [Wikipedia]WikipediaChen Tao (UFO religionChen Tao (UFO religion
What made the prediction unusually concrete was that it was published in the group’s own literature and distributed publicly. In God’s Descending on Clouds (Flying Saucers) to Save People, printed in Garland in 1997, Chen stated that God would descend in human form at 3513 Ridgedale Drive at exactly 10:00 a.m. on 31 March 1998. The expected visitor was not a vague spiritual presence. According to the text, this incarnation would resemble Chen physically, speak every language, walk through walls and replicate itself to greet multiple visitors simultaneously. [DNB]d-nb.info10:00 a.m.22 This human incarnation of GodDNBGod's Salvation Church: Past, Present and FutureApril 11, 2004 — by CH Prather · 1999 · Cited by 10 — In this book Chen states that Go…
The specificity distinguished the prophecy from many UFO contact claims. Rather than predicting a future age of transformation or an ambiguous celestial sign, Chen attached the event to a street address that anyone could locate on a map. Reporters quickly recognised that the claim could be tested directly. [Deseret News]deseret.comspotlight intensifies on ufo church as date nearsDeseret NewsSpotlight intensifies on UFO church as date nears7 Mar 1998 — The modest, split-level, beige-brick home at 3513 Ridgedale Dri…
The 31 March Deadline as a Public Event
By March 1998, the house had become the centre of intense media attention. Newspapers, television crews and curious observers converged on Garland as the deadline approached. International coverage was amplified by concerns arising from the recent Heaven’s Gate tragedy in California, leading some commentators and relatives of members to worry about what might happen if the prophecy failed. Chen repeatedly rejected suggestions that the group would engage in mass suicide and insisted that his movement respected human life. [Deseret News]deseret.comspotlight intensifies on ufo church as date nearsDeseret NewsSpotlight intensifies on UFO church as date nears7 Mar 1998 — The modest, split-level, beige-brick home at 3513 Ridgedale Dri…
The prophecy had already suffered a major blow on 25 March when God failed to appear on Channel 18 as predicted. Yet the physical-arrival deadline remained the central public test. Journalists continued to focus on the house because the second prediction involved an observable event at a fixed time and place. The Ridgedale address effectively became a stage on which a supernatural claim would either be confirmed or disproved. [DNB]d-nb.info10:00 a.m.22 This human incarnation of GodDNBGod's Salvation Church: Past, Present and FutureApril 11, 2004 — by CH Prather · 1999 · Cited by 10 — In this book Chen states that Go…
Contemporary accounts described the house as an ordinary suburban residence rather than a secluded compound. Its normal appearance heightened public fascination. The prediction transformed a beige split-level home in a Texas neighbourhood into an internationally reported site of anticipated divine arrival. [Deseret News]deseret.comspotlight intensifies on ufo church as date nearsDeseret NewsSpotlight intensifies on UFO church as date nears7 Mar 1998 — The modest, split-level, beige-brick home at 3513 Ridgedale Dri…
What Happened When the Hour Passed
When 10:00 a.m. arrived on 31 March 1998, nothing unusual occurred at 3513 Ridgedale Drive. No divine figure appeared. No miraculous manifestation took place. The prediction failed in the most direct way possible: the expected event simply did not happen. [Wikipedia]WikipediaChen Tao (UFO religionChen Tao (UFO religion
The significance of the failure was magnified by the prophecy’s precision. Because the claim involved a named address and a precise hour, there was little room to argue that observers had missed the event or misunderstood the prediction. The same specificity that had attracted media attention also made the prophecy vulnerable to clear falsification. [DNB]d-nb.info10:00 a.m.22 This human incarnation of GodDNBGod's Salvation Church: Past, Present and FutureApril 11, 2004 — by CH Prather · 1999 · Cited by 10 — In this book Chen states that Go…
Accounts from the period indicate that Chen attempted to explain the failure rather than deny it. Following the collapse of the Channel 18 prediction, he had already begun distancing himself from aspects of the timetable. After the Garland deadline passed, the movement faced the familiar challenge seen in many failed prophetic groups: preserving belief after a publicly testable prediction had failed. Some members remained loyal, but many eventually left the movement, and the organisation never regained the visibility it had enjoyed before March 1998. [Michael Shermer]michaelshermer.comMichael Shermer Spin Doctoring the End of the World10 a.m. on March 31, 1998, God shall make His appearance in the Holy Land of the Kingdom of God: 3513 Ridgedale Dr., Garland, TX 75041 U.S.A…
Why the Garland House Remains Important in UFO Prophecy History
The events at 3513 Ridgedale Drive are frequently cited because they provide a textbook example of a failed UFO-related prediction that was specific enough to be independently verified. Many UFO prophecies rely on broad timeframes, symbolic interpretations or subjective experiences. Chen’s Garland deadline did not. It specified a location, an exact hour and a visible outcome. [DNB]d-nb.info10:00 a.m.22 This human incarnation of GodDNBGod's Salvation Church: Past, Present and FutureApril 11, 2004 — by CH Prather · 1999 · Cited by 10 — In this book Chen states that Go…
As a result, the Garland house occupies a distinctive place in the history of failed predictions. The failure was not inferred years later through reinterpretation of vague language; it was witnessed in real time by observers waiting at a suburban address in Texas. Within the broader story of Chen Tao’s failed prophecies, 3513 Ridgedale Drive stands as the location where the movement’s most concrete claim met an equally concrete reality: the appointed hour arrived, and God did not. [DNB]d-nb.info10:00 a.m.22 This human incarnation of GodDNBGod's Salvation Church: Past, Present and FutureApril 11, 2004 — by CH Prather · 1999 · Cited by 10 — In this book Chen states that Go…
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Endnotes
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Source: d-nb.info
Title: 10:00 a.m.22 This human incarnation of God
Link: https://d-nb.info/1115332651/34Source snippet
DNBGod's Salvation Church: Past, Present and FutureApril 11, 2004 — by CH Prather · 1999 · Cited by 10 — In this book Chen states that Go...
Published: April 11, 2004
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Source: deseret.com
Title: spotlight intensifies on ufo church as date nears
Link: https://www.deseret.com/1998/3/7/19367656/spotlight-intensifies-on-ufo-church-as-date-nears/Source snippet
Deseret NewsSpotlight intensifies on UFO church as date nears7 Mar 1998 — The modest, split-level, beige-brick home at 3513 Ridgedale Dri...
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Source: Wikipedia
Title: Chen Tao (UFO religion)
Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chen_Tao_%28UFO_religion%29 -
Source: youtube.com
Title: USA: TAIWANESE CULT DISAPPOINTED AT GOD’S FAILURE TO APPEAR ON TV
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPyWo4Ei5vUSource snippet
God's Salvation Church - The UFO Cult of Chen Tao | Episode 40 | Sinisterhood Podcast...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: God’s Salvation Church
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nGLzE-vA18Source snippet
Music...
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Source: michaelshermer.com
Title: Michael Shermer Spin Doctoring the End of the World
Link: https://michaelshermer.com/articles/the-end-of-the-world/Source snippet
10 a.m. on March 31, 1998, God shall make His appearance in the Holy Land of the Kingdom of God: 3513 Ridgedale Dr., Garland, TX 75041 U.S.A...
Published: March 31, 1998
Additional References
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Source: cesnur.org
Link: https://www.cesnur.org/testi/bryn/chen_cook.htmSource snippet
Chen Tao in TexasChen Tao's leader announced that God the Heavenly Father would appear on television on the 25 th of March, 1998, and in...
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Source: researchgate.net
Link: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/216661364_Reporters_in_God-land_Texas_The_Role_of_the_Mass_Media_in_a_New_Religious_Movement%27s_Adaptation_to_Suburban_AmericaSource snippet
immediate neighbors, other Garland residents, media representatives covering the...Read more...
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Source: tcsidewalks.blogspot.com
Title: He chose the Dallas suburb of Garland because, to him, it
Link: https://tcsidewalks.blogspot.com/2009/03/texan-cult-of-week-gods-salvation.htmlSource snippet
Texan Cult of the Week: God's Salvation Church3 Mar 2009 — An expatriate Taiwanese cult named God's Salvation Church (GSC), knew he had t...
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Source: caymancompass.com
Title: waiting for god in garland texas
Link: https://www.caymancompass.com/1998/03/26/waiting-for-god-in-garland-texasSource snippet
Waiting for God in Garland, Texas26 Mar 1998 — The good news, according to Chen, is that God will land in Garland on March 31 to prepare...
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Source: economist.com
Title: waiting for god oh
Link: https://www.economist.com/united-states/1998/04/02/waiting-for-god-ohSource snippet
The EconomistWaiting for God. Oh2 Apr 1998 — Having forewarned the faithful, God would then descend to the back yard of 3513 Ridgeland Wa...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: USA: GARLAND: TAIWANESE CULT GROUP PRESS CONFERENCE
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_KaJ35xn1YUSource snippet
USA: TAIWANESE CULT DISAPPOINTED AT GOD'S FAILURE TO APPEAR ON TV...
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Source: histarch.illinois.edu
Link: https://www.histarch.illinois.edu/harper/millenial3.htmlSource snippet
31 in the manner of the Hale-Bopp Comet cult, Heaven's Gate. But Chen Hon-ming, 42, a social science professor who in 1993 began espousin...
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Source: jstor.org
Link: https://www.jstor.org/stable/26671417Source snippet
How Chen Tao Became a “Suicide Cult”1by RJ Cook · 2014 — Chen Tao was inaccurately. Chen purchased a ranch-style house on a cul-de-sac at...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Top 10 Failed Doomsday Predictions
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmjC41S9hzYSource snippet
Top 10 Historical Predictions That Turned Out to be False...
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Source: youtube.com
Title: Top 10 Historical Predictions That Turned Out to be False
Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=34EJmyIQe3A
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